Close your eyes for a moment and you’ll see a subtle grey. A color that doesn’t come from the outside world, but from the absence of light combined with your own inner thoughts. This phenomenon, often called “eye gray,” is the basis of HELIOT EMIL’s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection: Eigengrau.
This season, the Danish brand explores the idea of “seeing details in the light,” as the press release states. The starting point is that quiet grey behind closed eyes – an entry into introspective thought and dream states. As part of the campaign, the brand asks its community: What’s the strangest dream you’ve ever had? The answers forming an evolving dream archive, offering a glimpse into the shared depths of our hidden inner worlds.
This parafamiliar energy manifests in a collection of predominantly monochrome looks – minimal, but by no means lacking complexity. Signature to the brand, layering is tactically used across a largely grayscale palette. But this season, complexity comes from the intentional mixing of innovative materials.
A black knit balaclava-style jumper paired with formal trousers; a slim, satin-like necktie under a sheer knit overlay; or multiple technical puffer coats layered to form an entirely new silhouette. These combinations highlight the variation that can be achieved through materiality – even within a single color spectrum.
The attention to material also appears in the brand’s collaboration with TEXNIC – an innovative material company focused on the eco-friendly recycling of electric vehicle (EV) battery separators into high-performance textiles – presenting five pieces made from recycled battery materials: a jacket, vest, trousers, column skirt, and cinched coat.
The capsule highlights HELIOT EMIL’s commitment to redefining technical clothing – not as something strictly utilitarian, but as elegant, functional, and forward-looking.
Scroll up to see the full collection.
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